Tag: fabrication

How many cars are subjected to the MX5 running-gear swap? Well, on this website alone, we’ve seen it done to a Mini Clubman Estate, a Volvo P1800, a Saab 96, a Datsun 411 wagon, a Datsun 520 ute, and now we can add a Ford 100e to that list! This project by Urchfab has seen multiple uploads coming at us in close succession (over 35 videos in 2 months!), and shows no signs of slowing down until it’s complete.

A few minutes ago, I don’t even know what a Subaru Justy was. But now I can tell you that it’s a small, light hatchback and would be a pretty great recipient to have the innards of a 4.6L Mustang Cobra stuffed into it. Wait…what?

Thanks to Robert for commenting on the last post and adding a link to this project. The Justang was built by Circuit Motorsports.

InZanity is a build by fabricator/artist/magician, Kyle Kuhnhausen. No stone has been left unturned, with pretty much every part hand fabbed by the man himself, with styling inspiration from Rampage Camaro. An LSx nestled between the braced and dimple-died engine bay ensures this Z will be as fast as it looks, and it looks damn fast. Calling this build “detailed” is selling it way short, so make sure you check it out for yourself and peep what an untold amount of man-hours and skill can do to a car.

Gregor Halenda is a man whose talents I’ve followed for many years. Long-time readers will remember the post I wrote up about Gregor’s multiple projects (with no less than 6 links to various threads) that he had a hand in, including his gorgeous home that opened my eyes to the wonders of mid century modern architecture. That post was made over two years ago, and Gregor has not been idle. Along with his busy photography schedule, he has turned his attentions to creating a capable adventure vehicle for quality family time on (and off) the open road. The base vehicle? An airport shuttle bus!

Every now and then I get a bit of a “wow” moment when a build finds it’s way to my inbox, and this rally car restoration is definitely one of those moments. The thread first takes you through the competition history of the car, before we begin the build with a very tired and damaged shell. With a donor car brought in for parts and panels we get taken along for the ride as years of automotive archeology are uncovered with every layer of paint sanded and spot weld drilled out. The owner/builder shows off his skills in everything from body work, fabrication, painting and composites. The car doesn’t look to be finished just yet but the thread is up to date.

Thanks to John for submitting. Not enough small French hatchback action for you? Try the Citroen and Peugeot tags.

It’s been a minute since I’ve featured a bike build, that’s for sure. This one was sent in by Grant, and is chock full of highly detailed and very intricate home-built fabrication. The owner mixes a great amount of DIY fab work, from sand casting to CAD, and even creates a wooden forming die to bend stainless steel. I’ll admit, most of it goes way over my head, but it looks damn cool and I’m jealous as hell of the bucketload of talent on show. If you like machining, welding and lots of shiny metal, you best get in here.

One of the things I enjoy about this site is keeping in contact with some of the great craftsmen out there who grace these pages. One such person is Cameron, the man behind the 205 Hillclimber I featured way back in February of 2013. Cameron got in contact recently to tell me that he’s now working for himself, having started SaloonLibre, and is now part-way through another race-spec Pug build. If you remember his previous work, then you’ll need no incentive to read on, but if you haven’t, well, I’ll let Cameron’s own description be your guide: “The basic spec is a mid-engined RWD 2-seater using a Formula Renault engine (192bhp F4R) and Sadev sequential transaxle, carbon-kevlar T16 silhouette body, some Clio suspension & brake bits, and around 750kg kerb weight”

What do you do with yourself after building a V10-powered E30? You do it all over again, this time with a slightly more exotic subject. This Lotus Exige gets stretched and widened in order to fit the M5-sourced 10-cylinder power-plant, culminating in a very sleek and capable supercar-fighter that gets put through it’s paces at the track.

Hailing from our very own Build Threads Communal Garage is a very creative chap who runs a channel called It’s Ben Modified. The ‘about’ page says “Anything with Wheels and a Motor”, and to be honest I can’t think of a better way to describe the types of automobiles being pieced together in this shop. The projects range from (but aren’t limited to) 400 Hp V8 VW Truck, an electric conversion of a VW Bus, a pedal electric motorcycle and even an Autobianchi Bianchina being converted to bike-power. Long-term readers might remember one of these unique creations from a previous post, the Hayabusa Reverse Trike. Don’t forget to join the discussion group if you haven’t already, you never know what you might find or who you might meet in there!

On this site alone, we’ve seen more than a few different types of MX5engine swaps, including a 13B turbo, 20B PP, 2x LS3 V8s (here and here), and of course the standard engine converted to turbo (here, here and here) and even supercharged. More often than not, though, it’s the MX5 that becomes the donor vehicle, with many vintage chassis swaps using venerable Miata’s for their drivetrains. This build there, though, is one of the first times I can honestly say I’ve seen something entirely different applied to a Mazda roadster, in the way of a Mitsubishi Evolution 8 engine converted to rear wheel drive. Along with the very interesting engine choice comes a stack of gorgeous home-built fabrication work to set off the rest of the car, transforming it into a formidable track beast.